Me too, but they don't have that much of the hard woods out west. At least, it's easy splitting.
Firewood?
- Thread starter D'Animal
- Start date
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Only burn certain types of pines, or fir. Others are known to be a creosote headache, loaded with sap, and just burn like crap. Somewhere there is a btu chart showing different trees in the northern Rockies.
I really only burn lodgepole or red fir. Two of the better woods out here to burn.
It's what we have.
The only reason I had that big Douglas fur cut down is because it became diseased and was dying. I’ll save some of the wood for future camp fires and the ocasional back yard fire. My neighbor will take most of it for his firewood stash. I grew up in Michigan and we heated our home with hardwoods as you mentioned but a still had to clean the chimney out a couple times a winter.
Hardwoods aren't common in the mountains here. Burning pine, cedar, and fir is very common, and not a problem. Just season it first, like any other wood. Yes it burns faster, but still makes good heat.
So, on the recommendation of someone (here?), I bought an Oregon PowerCut chain for my MS271 a while ago, but didn't get around to putting it on and using until last week. Holy Sh!t, that thing cuts trees like butter! Hard to believe how quick and easy it cuts. I'll never buy another Stihl chain ever again.
Wow, thanks for the review…. I have all red and white oak. The chains do get dull after an hour or so and I routinely file them to get some extra time. At my age when I’m in a groove, (ok, 33 1/3 not 78’s rpm) I like to maximize the effort I put into it. Going to pickup a few of these. In 40+ years many trees have quadrupled in diameter so it takes a bit of work.
I have a good mix of trees here; red oak, live oak, cedar, pecan, poplar, and sumac. The PowerCut chain has cut them all so far. I do sharpen mine with a rat-tail file also.
Oregon makes an almost bewildering array of chains in different configurations. The PowerCut chain is a full chisel configuration.
That's what I run for White Oak and Pacific Madrone we have here. Someone locally recommended that chain and it rips
While searching…the Oregon’s lists. 55, 56, 57, and a s#!t load of other saw chain. I switched from my Farm Boss to the MS180… being lighter it’s easier for extended use, a great cutting chain will go a long way. The Stihl farm boss I bought in 1979, 22” bar and weighs a ton.
On the 180- you can switch to the wider bar and non safety chain and it’s night and day.
@Jdc1 ok…. You don’t think you can say that and not send the part number did you? 
If you have it, please let me know…. When I search, I see nothing, even the stock original. Not on the Stihl site though
If you have it, please let me know…. When I search, I see nothing, even the stock original. Not on the Stihl site though
Here you go, Al- the .050 doesn’t feel as spongy(??), and the non-safety chain makes a lot faster of a cut.@Jdc1 ok…. You don’t think you can say that and not send the part number did you?
If you have it, please let me know…. When I search, I see nothing, even the stock original. Not on the Stihl site though
I tried something new this year.....
The local packing house had an ad on FB for free pallets. I went to pick up a few to use around the farm.
However, once I got there I started thinking "I bet these would make great firewood...." 5 trips and 200+ pallets later.
It takes about 1 1/2 hours to chop up enough pallets with a skill saw fill up an apple bin.
A bin will last us about a week.
The good:
- There is almost no ash (lots of nails though) - I only have to empty the stove 1/2 a bucket, once a week (compared to 2 or 3 full buckets with regular wood).
- Verry little mess in the house from bark, leaves, etc.
- The pieces are really easy to handle, when a bin is empty, I just use the tractor to move a new one right up to the back door.
- The packing house is only 20 minutes from the house.
- I don't need to wait for the wood to dry
The bad:
- It does burn rather fast (even with the damper closed off) but the kids now don't mind so much chipping in loading the stove,
- I'm spending less time in the forest.
The local packing house had an ad on FB for free pallets. I went to pick up a few to use around the farm.
However, once I got there I started thinking "I bet these would make great firewood...." 5 trips and 200+ pallets later.
It takes about 1 1/2 hours to chop up enough pallets with a skill saw fill up an apple bin.
A bin will last us about a week.
The good:
- There is almost no ash (lots of nails though) - I only have to empty the stove 1/2 a bucket, once a week (compared to 2 or 3 full buckets with regular wood).
- Verry little mess in the house from bark, leaves, etc.
- The pieces are really easy to handle, when a bin is empty, I just use the tractor to move a new one right up to the back door.
- The packing house is only 20 minutes from the house.
- I don't need to wait for the wood to dry
The bad:
- It does burn rather fast (even with the damper closed off) but the kids now don't mind so much chipping in loading the stove,
- I'm spending less time in the forest.
Burns fast, hot and I spread ash all around the stone driveway to the pole barn…my luck those nails will be in the tires within a week.. I tried using a huge magnet to sweep the ash box. They retrieve so fast when the magnet passes over the top that the ash dust files 3 feet around and I still don’t trust it
I dont think this is the one you want. If you have a 170 or 180 get the 3/8P 1.3 gauge NOT the picco chain. Also if you have a 170 like me, add the metal dogs, the holes are already in the case, dont forget the screws.
Thanks… it is an MS-180. Have those dogs on my Farm Boss and they help a lot in large logs when they bite in and I can just lift the rear handle upwards
By the way, these chains came today.. some reviews say they cut VERY aggressively and unless you have professional experience, this chain is not for you… I ve been using a chain saw over 50 years..only had a slight incident on to my left thigh…
The scar is still there but damn, that scares me now that I’m older and weaker
The scar is still there but damn, that scares me now that I’m older and weaker